


Midnight Coffee

by adwox



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, brief slut shaming but its nothing major, jongdae is stuck in his ways and baekhyun never stops moving, mentions of university and financial struggles as well
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 08:42:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11249610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adwox/pseuds/adwox
Summary: Jongdae loves working the night shift at a small café. His routine is solid and peaceful, until one day an unfamiliar face comes in right before closing.





	Midnight Coffee

**Author's Note:**

> this is the first fic im publishing to this account!! for future reference, ill mostly be posting exo fanfic with almost any variation in ship. this specific fic is not very romo or sexual based, but i hope you enjoy it regardless! -red ♥

Jongdae always liked working the last shift.

Naturally, working at a café during the night meant it would be barren most of the time. Working until 1:00am every day is not exactly ideal for a university student, but he was the only one willing to do so. Jongdae relished in his late night privileges by taking his phone out to text his friends under the counter, counting how many pieces of gum stuck to the old tables his boss refused to replace, or (his favorite activity of them all) conversing with the nighttime regulars.

No ordinary person enters a café past 8:00pm, which is exactly why Jongdae liked working at this hour. The folks that came in seemed to have the most peculiar stories to share, and because of the lack of lines at such an hour, he could indulge in full length conversations. Almost all the night owl customers came in at the same time daily, and Jongdae found great comfort in having a solid routine.

So when Jongdae heard the chimes on the entrance door jostle, he checked his watch rather than the door itself. No one he knew came in at 12:40am. The last customer of the night, in fact, has consistently been an elderly woman who never came in later than 12:30am. Jongdae has once considered telling his boss that no one ever shows up later than half past midnight and working a shift until 1:00am is pointless, but any feeling of needlessness is gone once he glanced back up to see who was disrupting his schedule.

He looked up to a man around his age intensely staring at the café’s menus scribbled out on a chalkboard. Jongdae felt his breath hitch when he glanced at his face. _Dirty blond hair with dark roots peeking out, soft cheeks, round nose, small figure, pouty lips,_ Jongdae mentally took note as his eyes trailed up and down the stranger. _He looks like a lost elf._ He felt heat creep up to his cheeks when he noticed a large hickey partially hidden under the boy’s large scarf. Jongdae began to wonder about its origins until he heard the owner of the hickey speak.

“Um,” the voice started, nearly making Jongdae jump out of his skin. “I honestly was just looking for a glass of water, but when I saw that there was a coffee shop open at this hour, there was no way I couldn’t pass this up!” He tugged on his scarf before continuing. “Now that I think about it though, I’m kind of starving. Do you guys sell cake pops by any chance? I know that’s hyper-specific and everything, but I’m suddenly craving them. I don’t even remember the last time I had a cake pop, but I really want one. I don’t even care what flavor it is.”

Jongdae opened his mouth to affirm, _yes we have cake pops, yes they currently come in four different flavors, yes I can get you $3 for $4 if you really want to try them all,_ but he noticed the stranger was more than talkative. Jongdae licked his lips before pushing them together, and waited for the right break in the one-sided conversation. The young man reached behind him to get something out of his backpack before he stopped and scrunched his face up ever so slightly.

Jongdae could’ve sworn his heart leapt.

“Oh right,” the boy chuckled. “I came here for water, of course there’s not going to be any in my bag.” He looked up expectantly at Jongdae before he blinked his eyes and smiled.

“Water is free,” Jongdae stated as he began punching in the order. “In regards to the cake pops, look below the counter and take your pick. They’re normally $1.25 but they’ll be $3 for $4 if you buy four.”

“I’ll take the largest size of water then, and about the cake pops…” The now familiar face in front of him twisted into another expression, one of disappointment and embarrassment. “I only have $2 on me, but I really want to try both the vanilla and green tea one. Which is better?”

_There it is again,_ Jongdae thought to himself as he felt his pulse speed up. “I’ll cover for you,” he blurted without thinking.

“Really? Thank you so, so, sooooo much!” The young man reached out and grabbed Jongdae’s hand with little regard, and shook it violently. “My name is Byun Baekhyun, by the way, and you honestly just saved my night.”

Jongdae pulled away from Baekhyun’s death grip and began to put in the rest of his order. “It’s really no big deal,” he said as he fought back a smile. He stopped typing for a moment to look back up at Baekhyun. “I’m Jongdae. By the way, it sounds like you’ve had a pretty shit night.”

He wondered if he was being too intrusive with such a question. After all, he had only just discovered the name of this mystery man a moment ago. Jongdae’s suspicions were confirmed when he saw Baekhyun’s expression turn sour, and he went to rub his neck.

"I mean," he started, "I guess it all depends on your definition of bad. By my standards, definitely not." He cleared his throat before adjusting his scarf once more. "Here's the $2, by the way."

Jongdae furrowed his brows but chose not to press the matter, and held out his hand. He had expected two clean bills, but instead he was met with a plethora of coins. He dumped them on the counter and began to sort them by worth, before he saw another hand reach into the messy pile.

"I’m sorry, you shouldn't have to do this alone," Baekhyun apologized. "Especially since you're helping me pay."

"Have you ever heard about paper money?"

Baekhyun paused from sorting the coins for a moment to snort. "Of course, but I travel a lot. Buses and trains don't usually have nicely rounded numbers for their prices, so I'm always left with a bunch of coins. Plus, I like how they sound in my pocket, so it's not really a bad thing in the end."

Jongdae could've sworn he was going to die right there. "You have a really weird way of looking at things," he started while putting the coins in their respective location, "but it's kind of cute." He looked up to see Baekhyun staring at the floor, flustered.

“Sorry,” he heard Baekhyun mumble. If there were customers in the café, there would be no way Jongdae would have been able to hear him.

_Huh._ Jongdae blinked. _This kid is a mystery._

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” Jongdae told him, letting himself break out into a full smile, his guard lowering once more. “As you can imagine, working this late doesn’t exactly come with many things to do. So consider yourself doing me a favor by giving me something to occupy myself with.” He finished sorting the coins and placed them in their proper spot in the register, then made his way to the sink to get Baekhyun his drink.

“Why do you work this shift anyway?” Baekhyun asked, leaning over the cabinet to peer at Jongdae as he put a lid over his cup of water. “You seem like one of those university kids who is always face-deep into books or something.”

Jongdae hummed as he grabbed a small paper bag and bent down by the pastry cabinet. He picked up two cake pops and put them in the bag, then handed the bag to Baekhyun. “I am,” he finally said. “But you can’t go to university if you don’t have any money, can you?”

“Afraid not,” Baekhyun replied with a chuckle. He didn’t sound like he was humored. “It’s a good thing you still power through it all, though. School was too much for me, same with the idea of getting a job.” He stopped to take a long sip of water.

“I don’t view it as a chore, it's more like a burden on my sleep schedule. I like the distraction.”

“Working just makes me feel worse,” Baekhyun said between bites of the green tea cake pop. “I don’t like to be told what to do.”

“You say that, but you basically just revealed you never had a real job.”

“Believe me, I know!” Baekhyun waved the stick of his now finished cake pop around. “If I couldn’t take school, where I pay, how could I take work, where _they_ pay me?”

“I don’t really view it that way, I guess. They’re both totally different, even if money is involved. I’m grateful enough just to have been able to hold down a job for so long, especially in recent months.” Jongdae felt his muscles tense for a moment as he recalled pieces of the past.

Baekhyun sighed, not picking up on Jongdae change in demeanor, and fished the vanilla cake pop out of the paper bag. “I admire your kind. People like you seem to naturally just be better.” He leaned over the counter and took a large bite out of the cake pop.

“People like me?” Jongdae inquired. He wasn’t even aware he fit into a certain archetype. Well, maybe by Baekhyun’s strange standards he was.

Baekhyun held up one of his hands to show that he could not speak while chewing. He swallowed the cake and took a long sip of water before continuing. “You know,” he started, “Gifted people. You can go to a presumably nice university and still stomach working hours like this even though it’s obviously not the kind of job you’re really good at.”

Jongdae felt his eye twitch. “But you hardly know me,” He argued. “How are you going to determine what I’m good at or what I suck at? That’s unfair.” He heard Baekhyun scoff and felt more offended than he should have been. Jongdae was just starting to warm up to him too. “I’m used to assumptions, but this is stupid. I could’ve assumed you were some kind of slut based on that hickey you were sporting, but I didn’t, because that’s what decent people do. They don’t tell other people who they are when they don’t even know shit about them!”

He paused to take a breath. _Well damn,_ he thought to himself. _That was a major overreaction, especially for someone like me._

_Someone like me._

Jongdae inwardly cursed at himself. He was constantly labeling himself without even realizing it. He looked back up at Baekhyun, his face contorted in what looked to be fear.

“What is _wrong with you?_ ” He hissed, his face now red with anger. “You can’t just go on a rant like that and then turn around and become the biggest fucking hypocrite on earth!” He exhaled, pushed himself off the counter and tightened the scarf around his neck. “Good luck with the rest of school. Have a nice night.”

Jongdae watched in silence as he wiped his face on his jacket and exited the café. He let out a sigh and swallowed before checking the time.

12:57am. It was time to clean up and go home.

 

* * *

 

12:38pm. 12:39pm. 12:40pm.

12:41pm.

Jongdae sighed and forced himself to look away from the clock. It was the fourth day without any sight of Baekhyun. Granted, he was neither a regular nor someone he was close with. Part of him hoped Baekhyun would be like the rest of his nightly customers and pick a strict time to come in, but he knew he was being delusional. Who in their right mind would want to go back to him after he acted like that? Certainly not himself, or anyone else.

He knew he deserved this, and was sure that Baekhyun was not thinking about him nearly as much as he was thinking about the dirty blond. It had been so long since Jongdae had wanted to get close to another person again, and he just had to ruin it. He so desperately wanted to go back to their fateful meeting and explain why he overreacted, walking Baekhyun through his entire situation.

Jongdae was a fool for letting his past trauma get the better of him. The regulars at the café were aware of his past relationship troubles to a certain extent; some of them were even around for part of his situation. Of course, Baekhyun wouldn’t know Jongdae gets irrationally nervous when people try to label him. The first thing his mind assumes is that they’re going to go from labeling to controlling him.

_Damn,_ he thought to himself. _I need some professional guidance._

Fifteen minutes passed and Jongdae migrated from the counter to storage to do one final sweep before closing, when he heard a rustle coming from the main area. He dropped the paper cups he was holding and quietly cursed to himself for making noise, and reached to grab the nearest blunt object. If someone was planning on robbing the store while Jongdae’s shift was still in session, the perpetrator should be aware that Jongdae was an aggravated college student with nothing to live for anymore. He would not hold back.

He peered out of the storage room to see a bundled up figure facing the door kick the air. He watched as the person put their hood up and made a beeline for the exit. Without thinking, Jongdae stepped out in an obnoxious fashion, making as much noise as possible. The figure flinched and turned around to face him with wide eyes. Jongdae let out a soft gasp when he realized who he was mentally preparing to clock over the head.

Byun Baekhyun lowered his hood and stared at Jongdae, his expression somber. Jongdae felt his heart race, from both excitement and anxiety.

“Hi,” Jongdae started, hoping his voice wasn’t shaking as much as his hands were. “I, uh… Um. God, fuck. What are you doing here?” He placed the roll of tin foil (his master weapon) on the countertop and shuffled in place awkwardly. Normally, he would try to laugh off a situation like this, but Baekhyun was looking at him in such a way where he felt like one wrong move would get him cracked.

Baekhyun sighed, his expression going from stern to soft. “I came here to say that I’m sorry if I hit a nerve a few nights ago,” he explained. “The way you acted made me believe you had some sort of reason for doing so. Leave it to me to only realize days after leaving,” he laughed dryly. He was no longer looking at Jongdae, who felt his heart swell.

“You shouldn’t be the one apologizing, it should be me.” Jongdae said. “I was wrong about you too, actually. You really are good at reading me. I’ll admit, I have some trauma that gets in the way of my otherwise functional life, but that’s still no excuse for what I said to you.” He rubbed at his neck, and watched Baekhyun subconsciously mimic him (ironically, over the now hardly visible hickey).

Baekhyun goes to look at him once more, his face pink. “God, me too,” he said. “Trust me when I say that you calling me a slut was one of the worst things you could’ve said to me.” Jongdae winced, but kept listening. “But I’m over it. Seriously. I get over shit fast. Part of my own shitty trauma I guess.”

“I don’t want you to be over it though!” Jongdae whined. “I did a bad thing! You deserve to be mad at me, please. At least for a week maybe, so I can make you a bunch of coffee as a formal apology.”

Baekhyun snorted. It was a pretty ugly sound, yet Jongdae found his pulse race once more. “Oh don’t worry, baby,” Baekhyun teased, “I was gonna make you do that anyway. But first, I have something for you.”

Without warning, Baekhyun reached into his pocket and tossed something to Jongdae. He caught it and stared at the small object, now in his hands.

“A coin?”

“Twenty-five cents to be exact, babe,” Baekhyun replied, continuing with the pet names. He really did get over shit fast. “You spotted me, remember? I was able to get some extra money, so there you go.”

Jongdae wondered where Baekhyun got the money, knowing very well he did not have a job. Come to think of it, the majority of his thoughts within the past few days revolved around the mystery man standing in front of him. “Thanks. Can I have your number?” He blurted.

Baekhyun blinked, but broke out into a smile a beat later. “I thought you’d never ask,” he teased. Jongdae felt weak. It wasn’t fair; Jongdae was always the flirter, not the flirtee.

_Well,_ he thought, _I suppose there’s a first for everything._

“Shall we bond over our horrible pasts together over your finest coffee?” Baekhyun asked with a grin as he imputed his digits into Jongdae’s phone. _Byun “Babycakes” Baekhyunee_ , his phone read. He hit save contact, not touching anything.

“Naturally,” Jongdae replied. “But not tonight,” he glanced at the clock. It was past 1:00am, and at this point Jongdae would have already been in his car. “Will you take up on my offer to drive you home instead?” He took out his keys and jingled them.

“So you’re both my personal barista and chauffeur? Man, having a carefree attitude does pay off. Take that, intensive therapy!” Baekhyun raised his fist and shook it to the sky as a joke for dramatic effect.

“Please, we have all the time in the world to talk smack about our own history. For now, let’s just focus on getting you home.”

Jongdae led Baekhyun to his car, ignoring him poke fun at the chipping paint and stained car seats. He didn’t, however, ignore the way Baekhyun looked at everything with such wide and excited eyes.

During their car ride home, Baekhyun fell asleep. Jongdae smiled the whole time.

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](http://twitter.com/himchuan) • [tumblr](http://tatsmato.tumblr.com) • [curiouscat](http://curiouscat.me/cnu)


End file.
